Take a chance on when dummy sinks

Thursday

Jan 31, 2008 at 12:01 AM

When do you think Einstein will sink?

That is the question the Webster Lake Association is asking contestants in the organization’s first Ice-Out Contest.

Contest participants make their best guess as to when the ice at Action Marine Cove on Webster Lake will melt enough for a 40-pound weight attached to a mannequin to drop through the ice. The mannequin is dressed to look like Einstein and is known as “Ice-Out Einstein.” It sits on a chair that is attached to the weight.

The contest begins Feb. 1. To enter, purchase a ticket, circle a month, write in a guess for date, hour and minute that Ice-Out Einstein will go through the ice and mail the ticket to Webster Lake Fund-Raising, P.O. Box 66, Webster, MA 01570. Tickets are $5, and there is no limit to the number of times someone can enter.

Tickets must be submitted no later than midnight Feb. 15.

Ice-Out Einstein is set up in the middle of Action Marine Cove.

A Web cam allows for live viewing of Ice-Out Einstein through a link at www.WebsterLakeAssociation.com.

People enjoy predicting when the ice will melt, and a number of ice-out contests are held each year at different lakes throughout the country, said Ken Mroczek of the Webster Lake Association. A group of Webster residents read about these contests and thought it would be fun for the Webster Lake Association to sponsor its own contest, he said.

The connection with Albert Einstein is accidental rather than scientific, but the organizers don’t think Mr. Einstein would take offense at being the icon for the contest, Mr. Mroczek said. “Five grown men spent a Sunday creating a dummy that ended up looking like Einstein,” he said with a chuckle.

Mr. Mroczek offered a little hint to level the playing field for those not familiar with the lake’s history. “Last year the ice left Webster Lake the last week of March,” he said.

The contest is open to everyone 18 and older.

Tickets may be purchased online at websterlakeassoc@charterinternet.com by Feb. 5.

According to Mr. Mroczek, organizers are hoping to sell $5,000 worth of tickets. “We’re a good ways there already,” he said.

The winners will be those who guess the closest to the exact month, date, hour and minute of the winning time. The winning time will be when the ice in Action Marine Cove melts to sink the weight and trip the timer. In the event of a tie, the prizes will be split.

The first-place winner will receive $1,500. Other prizes are: $1,000 for second place, $500 for third place, and $250 each for fourth and fifth place.

The proceeds will be split evenly between the Webster Lake Association and the Webster Emergency Medical Services.

And it is probably safe to wager that contestants might agree with an excerpt from Albert Einstein’s statement, “I want to know God’s thoughts …” — at least in the matter of when the ice will melt.

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